State trooper recovering after crash on I-495 in Fairfax

WASHINGTON – A Virginia state trooper is recovering after being injured when an intoxicated driver hit his patrol car early Saturday morning.

The trooper, identified as K.S. Fleenor, had positioned his car in the left northbound travel lane on I-495 at Tyson’s Corner in Fairfax County around midnight. Virginia state police say a tow truck was struggling to remove a badly damaged vehicle involved in a crash.

Police say Fleenor had pulled up behind the tow truck for the operator’s safety and was sitting inside his car, with his emergency lights fully activated.

At 12:08 a.m., a 2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue rear-ended his car, forcing it into the previously damaged vehicle. That vehicle was pushed into the rear of the tow truck, according to state police.

Fleenor and the tow truck operator were both taken to Fairfax Inova Hospital. They were treated and released.

Christina Hirt, 30, of Alexandria, Va. was driving the Oldsmobile, according to police. She refused treatment at the scene of the crash and has been charged with a DUI.